


father figure

by tuaslut



Series: are we related? [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: 5+1 Things, Awesome Pepper Potts, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Goofy Peter Parker, Humor, Natasha Romanov Is Not A Robot, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Calls Tony Stark "Dad", Peter is a Little Shit, Protective Natasha Romanov, Protective Steve Rogers, Protective Tony Stark, Sassy Peter, Sleepy Peter Parker, Soft Peter Parker, Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, crying Peter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-21
Updated: 2019-11-21
Packaged: 2021-02-08 04:23:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21470020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tuaslut/pseuds/tuaslut
Summary: five times tony felt like he’s a father and one time he is one.
Relationships: Natasha Romanov & Pepper Potts, Natasha Romanov & Peter Parker, Natasha Romanov & Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanov & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers & Pepper Potts, Steve Rogers & Peter Parker, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark
Series: are we related? [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1564384
Comments: 7
Kudos: 483
Collections: are we related?





	father figure

I.

Tony is sitting in the living room on one of his residential floors, waiting for Peter to come back from patrol.  
He hears a window open and looks up from his StarkPad to see Peter tumble into a somersault on the ground.

“Do you have any idea what time it is, young man?” Tony says, removing his glasses.

Peter chuckles as he gets up. “First off, you sound like a dad. Second off, Tony, it’s not even that late!”

“What time did I say you should be here when I’m babysitting you?” Tony asks, crossing his arms.

“It’s not babysitting, I’m old enough to be home alone.” Peter says, flopping onto the couch near Tony’s armchair.

“What time did I say?” Tony asks again.

Peter sighs. “11 on weekdays, midnight during break and weekends.”

“And what time is it now?” Tony asks.

Peter looks at the clock. “Tony it’s 12:03!”

“You were still late!” Tony says.

Tony must have been scolding loud enough, because a sleepy Pepper walks into the living room.

“Tony, when I said you could wait up for Peter, I didn’t mean this.” She hoarsely says, showing she just woke up.

“He was three minutes late, Pep! It’s inexcusable!” Tony says.

“What are you talking about, it’s 12:02 right now.” Pepper says.

“What are you talking about, that clock literally says 12:05.” Tony says, gesturing to the clock on the wall.

Pepper rubs her eye and looks at Tony, then Peter. “I told you that clock is three minutes late. I literally asked you to fix it two days ago.”

“Oh.” Tony says.

“Are you _serious_, Tony!” Peter says, standing up.

“I’m going back to bed.” Pepper says, waving a hand before walking back to the bedroom.

“Before you say anything-“ Tony starts before Peter interrupts him.

“I don’t wanna_ hear it,_ Anthony. I really don’t.” Peter says before walking to his bedroom.

II.

Peter sits in his room, silently sobbing into his pillow.

Steve walks by and pauses by Peter’s door, hearing sniffles and whimpers.

He knocks on the door. “Queens, you alright?”

He hears a sniffle. “I’m fine, Steve.”

“Can I come in?” Steve asks.

Another sniffle. “Yeah.”

Steve walks in and sees Peter curled up on his bed, scrubbing tear tracks off his face.

“Hey,” Steve says as he walks over to the foot of the bed. “what’s going on, Queens?”

Peter rubs his eyes. “It’s nothing, Steve, ‘m fine.”

“You can tell me.” Steve says, sitting down. “I won’t judge you.”

That causes Peter to dissolve into sobs.

“Hey, hey,” Steve says, moving to cradle Peter in his arms. “I’m sorry, it’s okay.”

Peter clutches onto Steve’s shirt. “‘m sorry, ‘m overreacting.”

“If it’s making you cry, it’s not overreacting.” Steve says, trying to pull back to look at Peter, but the teen buries his face into Steve’s chest.

“Peter, should I call Tony?” Steve says, which makes Peter cry even more.

“N-no, please don’t.” Peter hiccups before sobbing again.

“Bud, you gotta tell me what’s going on.” Steve says, stroking his hand down Peter’s back.

“It’s nothing, he didn’t d-do anything wrong.” Peter cries.

“Who’s ‘he’?” Steve asks.

“T-Tony.” Peter sniffles.

“Peter, what did Tony do?” Steve says.

“H-he grounded me.” Peter says, before sobbing again.

_Tony would never do that_, Steve thinks.

“What did you do for him to ground you?” Steve asks.

“I wouldn’t let him drive me to Ned’s house.” Peter sniffs. “I asked if Happy could take me.”

“He shouldn’t have grounded you, then. Happy drives you places all the time.” Steve says.

“I know!” Peter whines.

“Okay, I gotta go talk to him. This seems ridiculous.” Steve says.

“No, don’t go!” Peter says, clutching onto Steve’s sleeve.

“I’ll be back, Peter.” Steve says before Peter cries again.

“He’s gonna ground me for longer!” Peter says.

“Do you wanna come with me to talk to him?” Steve asks.

Peter hesitates, then nods.

—  
“Hey, Tony?” Steve says, walking into the kitchen.

“What’s going on, Capsicle?” Tony says, putting down his StarkPad.

“Can we talk about something?” Steve asks.

“Yeah, what do you wanna talk about?” Tony says.

“You can come in.” Steve says, and a crying Peter walks in.

“Bubba.” Tony sympathetically says, causing Peter to dissolve into sobs and rush to hide behind Steve.

“Steve, what’s going on?” Tony asks again.

“Peter here has something to say to you, don’t you?” Steve says.

Peter quickly shakes his head.

At that moment, Natasha walks into the kitchen. She’s scrolling on her phone as she picks an apple out of the fruit bowl. She looks up and pauses, assessing the situation before walking over to Peter hiding behind Steve.

“маленький паук, what’s wrong?” She asks.

Peter hiccups before looking up at her, unshed tears gleaming in the light.

“Ohhhh, детка.” Natasha says, pulling Peter into her arms. “Guys, what’s going on?”

“Tony, what Peter wants to say is that he’s very upset that you grounded him.” Steve says.

“What?” Tony and Natasha, confusion evident in their voices.

“You grounded him, didn’t you?” Steve says.

“No, I just told him he couldn’t go to Ned’s house to build their LEGO Coliseum today.” Tony says.

Peter loudly wails. “We’ve been working on the foundation for two days!

“It’s okay, Peter.” Natasha says, rubbing circles into Peter’s back.

“Tony, why can’t he go?” Steve says.

“I just don’t want him to.” Tony says.

“That’s not true, you said it’s because I wouldn’t let you drop me off in your neon green Lamborghini Aventador!” Peter sobs.

“It’s a fashionable car!” Tony says.

“It’s really ugly, Tony.” Natasha says. “It’s like a highlighter from hell.”

”Yeah, I don’t know why someone would make that, let alone buy it.” Steve says.

“I’m gonna remember that, Steven. And you’re on thin ice, Natasha.” Tony says.

“Tony, will you please apologize?” Steve sighs. “He’s been sobbing for an hour.”

“You let Peter cry for _an hour,_ Tony? An HOUR?” Natasha says, whipping her head around to look at the latter.

“I was just in a meeting, I didn’t know!” Tony says, throwing his hands up.

“You barely pay attention in meetings, anyway.” Peter says, his voice muffled by Natasha’s hoodie.

“Just apologize, Tony. It’s sad to see him cry.” Steve says.

“Pete?” Tony asks, jumping off the stool.

Peter sniffles and turns away from Tony.

“Bubba? Spidermonkey? Munchkin? Can you look at me?” Tony says, walking towards Peter and Natasha.

Peter croaks out, “Don’t call me that.”

“But you love when I call you bubba.” Tony coos.

Peter turns his head towards Tony. “No, you like it. I just get used to it.”

“But who else am I supposed to call my bubba?” Tony asks.

“I’m sure you could find someone.” Peter says.

Tony holds out his arms. “I wouldn’t want it to be anyone else.”

Peter turns his head to look at Tony. “Really?”

“Yes, really.” Tony chuckles. “Now, it looks like someone needs a bone-crushing hug.”

Peter lifts his head up to look at Natasha and Steve, who both nod. Peter slowly walks over to Tony and leans into the hug.

“I’m sorry I said you couldn’t go, bubba.” Tony says, ruffling Peter’s hair.

“It’s okay. Can I still go?” Peter says.

“Will you let me drive the Aventador?” Tony asks.

“Do you have a Honda Civic?” Peter says.

Tony fake gags. “Did you hear that? He asked me if I have a _Honda, oh dear god_.”

“What’s wrong with a Honda?” Steve asks.

Tony pauses. “You’re a middle-aged mom.”

III.

Tony’s napping on the couch when he hears rapid footsteps running towards him.

Peter comes running into the living room, frantically looking around until he lays eyes on Tony.

“Tony!” Peter huffs. “Tony, Tony, guess what?”

Tony opens one blurry eye. “Hmmm?”

“I caught a bird!” Peter says, glee evident in his voice as muffled coos fill the living room.

Tony hums, turning into the throw pillow. “That’s nice, Petie.”

Tony pauses for a minute before shooting up.  
“_**PETER BENJAMIN PARKER, WHY DO YOU HAVE A BIRD, PUT IT BACK!**_”

“He hit my window!” Peter says. “I couldn’t just leave him there.”

“Don’t tell me that’s a pigeon. Don’t tell me you brought a _New York pigeon into my house_.” Tony sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Then I won’t.” Peter says, walking to the bathroom as the pigeon in his hands coos loudly.

“_**PETER!**_”

IV.

May, Natasha, and Pepper were on a spa retreat, and left Tony, Steve, and Peter at the tower by themselves.

At 3 a.m., Peter stumbles out of the elevator onto Steve’s floor and shuffles to Steve’s room.

He quietly knocks on Steve’s door, leaning his weight on the threshold.

Steve was already awake, so he walked over to the door and opened it to Peter dozing.

“Tony, for the last time, you can sleep on your- oh. Queens?” Steve says.

“Hmmm?” Peter says, lifting his head up.

“What’re you doing here?” Steve asks.

“Can’t sleep.” Peter says, rubbing one of his eyes.

“Where’s Tony?” Steve asks.

“He won’t leave the lab.” Peter yawns.

Steve sighs. “C’mon, Peter.”

“Where are we going?” Peter quietly says.

“To go get Tony.” Steve says back.

—-  
The elevator opens and Steve has to carry Peter out of the elevator, nearly asleep and drooling on Steve’s deltoid.

Steve walks over to the lab doors. “FRIDAY, can you call Tony over?”

After a second, Tony walks over to the door with a sign that reads ‘I’m not coming out!’

Steve reads it for a second before angrily gesturing at Peter.

Tony looks at him and sighs before pressing the intercom.

“Steve, why’d you bring him down here?” Tony says.

Steve presses the intercom button on his side.  
“He was looking for you, Tony.”

“Well, I’m not coming out for a while, so you cuddle with him.” Tony says.

“You think Pepper’s gonna let you stay in the lab for more than three days?” Steve says.

“They’re coming back in two days, Steve, I’ll be out in time.” Tony says.

“What are you talking about, they’re coming back tomorrow.” Steve says.

Steve can hear FRIDAY’s voice from inside the lab. “Boss, they’re arriving here tomorrow afternoon at 2:15 p.m.”

“Shit.” Tony says.

“Language.” Steve inputs.

“Don’t even start.” Tony says, pointing a finger at him.

“Tony, can you please come to bed?” Steve asks. “He’s tired.”

“He has you.” Tony says.

“He wants you.” Steve says.

Tony looks at the sleeping figure on Steve’s back and smiles.

“Fine.” Tony says. “But only because his drooling is really funny.”

“Eww.” Steve says as he reaches a hand behind him to softly move Peter’s head.

Steve waits by the door as Tony saves his work, before turning off the lights and walking to the lab doors.

The doors open and Tony shuffles next to Steve.

“Go in front of me, I wanna make sure you don’t try to go back.” Steve says.

Tony groans. “I’m not six.”

“You did it last week.” Steve says.

Tony looks at Steve before walking in front of Steve on the way to the elevator.

—-

The elevator doors open on Tony’s floor and Steve gently puts Peter down, leaning him on Tony’s shoulder.

“Good night, Tony.” Steve says.

Tony yawns, reaching one hand to rest over Peter’s shoulder. “Good night, Steve. Say good night, Peter.”

Peter incoherently mumbles, nuzzling his head into Tony’s deltoid.

Tony chuckles. “That’s the best you’ll get out of him. See you tomorrow.”

As the elevator doors close, Tony starts to walk to Peter’s bedroom, half dragging Peter along with him.

When he gets to Peter’s door, Peter won’t let go of him.

“Pete?” Tony whispers.

No answer.

“Bubba, c’mon, I gotta go to bed.” Tony says, trying to detach Peter’s arm from his torso.

Peter responds by whining and wrapping his arms tighter.

Tony sighs. “Guess you’re sleeping with me tonight.”

Tony walks over to his bedroom and shuffles over to his bed.

“Okay, Pete, you really gotta let go now.” Tony says.

Peter removes his arms and sleepily climbs into the bed, curling up under the covers.

“You little-“ Tony starts.

“Language.” Peter croaks out.

Tony shakes his head and walks over to the other side of the bed. He climbs in and Peter moves to lay half of his body on top of Tony’s.

Tony runs his hand down Peter’s back. “You’re something else, bubba, something else.”

Peter quietly hums. “You know you love it, Dad.”

“Yeah, I guess I do.” Tony says before kissing the top of Peter’s head.

V.

Tony sat in the med bay with Peter as he got stitches in his bicep.

“What were you thinking?” Tony says, turning to look at Peter.

“I just thought that if I came at him from a different direction I could get him.” Peter quietly says.

“Not that.” Tony says, waving a hand. “I mean, what were you thinking telling KAREN not to tell me you were gravely injured, coming here by yourself, and passing out in the lobby as you slowly bled out?”

“I didn’t want to worry you.” Peter says, playing with a thread on the hospital bed.

“Peter, look at me.” Tony says, rubbing his thumb over Peter’s knuckles.

Peter slowly picks his head up to look at Tony, tears threatening to spill out of his eyes.

“You never call me Peter.” He says, voice barely over a whisper.

“Bubba, I’m just worried.” Tony says, letting go of Peter’s hand to wipe his thumbs under Peter’s eyes. “I don’t want you to think you can’t tell me anything.”

“You would’ve gotten mad.” Peter says before sniffling.

“No, no, no, I could never get mad at you.” Tony says, putting his finger under Peter’s chin.

Peter locks eyes with Tony, searching for any sign of dishonesty. He doesn’t find any.

The doctor finishes stitching up Peter’s arm and gives Tony a small smile before they walk out.

Peter’s body is suddenly wracked with sobs, his shoulders heaving.

“Oh, Itsy Bitsy, what’s going on?” Tony says as Peter falls into his chest. Peter incoherently blubbers as he tries to catch his breath.

“Okay, Pete, I’m gonna need you to breath for me, okay.” Tony says.

Peter rapidly shakes his head.

“Pete, c’mon, I know you can do it, okay? Just follow my breathing.” Tony says, breathing deeply and slowly.

It takes a while, but soon Tony has Peter breathing correctly.

“There you go, bubba, that’s it.” Tony says, rubbing circles on Peter’s back. “Now, what’s going on?”

Peter hiccups. “H-he sa-said he’d kill me, that no- nobody would miss a ‘disrespectful little ingrate’ like me.”

Tony looks down at Peter. “Hey, hey, now you know that’s not true, I’d miss you, Nat and Steve would miss you, so would May, Pep, Bruce, Happy... Pete, we all care about you.”

Peter shook his head again and started crying again. “That’s not t-true. You don’t have to try and make me feel better.”

”When have I ever lied to make you feel better?” Tony says.

”When you s-said you liked pineapple on pizza.” Peter sniffles.

”I won’t lie to you now when I say that’s the scum of the earth.” Tony says.

Peter lets out a dry chuckle.

Tony rests his chin on top of Peter’s head. “But seriously, Peter, we all love you. I love you. And I want you to _**never**_forget that. Yeah, you may like the worst food ever, but I still love you with all of my heart.”

Tony and Peter sit in silence for a while before Peter speaks.

“I love you, too.” Peter says after a minute.

———  
(I.)

Tony held Morgan in his arms, tears forming in his eyes once again.

Pepper sighs. “Tony, you’ve been crying for the past hour.”

Tony sniffles. “She’s just so _beautiful_.”

Peter sobs. “She has such tiny hands.”

Tony looks at Peter. “And look at her little fingernails.”

Peter looks down before crying again. “They’re _so small_.”

Pepper chuckles, shaking her head. “You two are something else.”

Tony looks up at Pepper. “I can’t believe you made this.”

“Morgan is your baby too, give yourself 12 percent of the credit.” Pepper smiles.

Tony looks up at her, smiling from ear to ear. “Twelve percent?”

“An argument can be made for fifteen.” She says, a smile on her face. 

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!!! feel free to leave kudos and comments <3 — mel


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